I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pure maple syrup substitute and a method of preparing such a syrup.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Pure maple syrup is prepared from the sap of maple trees by boiling off most of the water content of the sap until a thick dark brown sweet aromatic syrup remains. The product has a high commercial value because it has a flavour which is considered to be much more enjoyable than other syrups and because the production of maple syrup is labor and energy intensive. Moreover, the sap can be collected only during the spring and the resulting syrup loses its flavour to some extent during storage. Consequently the syrup tends only to be available on a seasonal basis.
Many attempts have been made in the past to produce a substitute for pure maple syrup, but all such artificial syrups tend not to have the distinctive flavour, colour and/or consistency of the natural product and have become accepted only because of their cheaper price. For example, previous attempts at producing maple syrup substitutes are disclosed in Canadian Pat. Nos. 23,399, 46,925 and 501,045, issued, respectively, to Charles McLean, Ira Shanton and Joseph Levasseur.
Accordingly, there is a need for a syrup that is very similar, if not identical, to natural maple syrup in terms of flavour, aroma, appearance and consistency while desirably being cheaper in price. It is only such a syrup that can act as a substitute for pure maple syrup.